Mary ‘Shaun’ Marquis of North Truro Massachusetts, passed away July 27, 2021 at the age of 79, surrounded by her loving family.
Mary ‘Shaun’ was born in Cambridge, Mass, on May 9, 1942. She spent the majority of her childhood in Groton, Mass, the first of five children to the late William and Eileen (Lorden) Shaughnessy. She graduated from Groton High School in 1960, where she was President of the Student Council and made the National Honor Society. She graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1964 with a B.S. in Social Work and was a proud member of Alpha Xi Delta Sorority.
She married her sweetheart Donald R. Marquis and moved to Nashua, NH in 1967. They were married for over 42 years until his death in 2009.
Shaun was the Director at Information and Referral of Greater Nashua where she worked for over 30 years. She possessed an uncanny ability to assess needs and help people get services quickly. She inspired people with her compassion and determination, which was apparent in the way she trained new counselors to duplicate her style. She co-founded and volunteered for the Nashua/Hudson Suicide Hot Line, a crises prevention call center, as well as co-founding ServiceLink, an aging and disability resource center in New Hampshire.
Shaun moved to Cape Cod in 2016 to be closer to family. She loved spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren who were the light in her life. She also enjoyed any time spent with her siblings, often laughing and telling stories late into the night.
She will be remembered for her kindness, her beautiful smile and wonderful laugh.
Shaun is survived by her daughters Colleen Marquis (Novel Kettil) and Nicole (Jackson) Dutra; her grandchildren Olivia, Ryan and Elias, her brothers Bill (Lynne) Shaughnessy and Dan (Marilou) Shaughnessy, her sister Ann Martin (Peter), brother-in-law Paul Durbin, and many nieces, nephews and cousins. In addition to her parents and husband, Shaun is predeceased by her sister Joan Durbin.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to a charity of your choice in her name.
A Memorial, celebrating her life, will be held in the Nashua area at a later date.